Vehicle-tire fastening.



No. 663,899. Patented Dec. I8, I900. W. HOLMES.

VEHICLE TIRE FASTENING. (Application flled Aug. 13, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES IATnNr Creme.

VILLIAM HOLMES, OF CHICAGO, ILLI NOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE MORGAN do WRIGHT,OF SAME PLACE.

VEHICLE-TIRE FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,899, dated December18, 1900.

Application filed August 13, 1900. Serial No. 26,725- (No model.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM HOLMES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, county of Cook,State oflllinois,have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Tire Fastening Devices,ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to elastic vehicle-tires of that class in which therubber or rubber composition portion of the tire, with or withoutareinforcement of fabric, is either molded to form alength suitable foratire or molded to form a piece sufficiently long to permitit to be outup into a number of lengths suitable for a like numberof tires. A tirelength thus formed is usually placed within the channel of a wheel-rimand provided with one or more bands or wires generally fastened togetherat theirends while the tire is seated in the rim-channel, the adjacentend portions of the tire in such case being temporarily forced back uponthe bandor bands, so as to permit the ends of such band or bands to besecured together. After the ends of these binding devices have been thussecured together the end portions of the tire are caused to cometogether and meet, thereby forming a joint in the tire. As anillustration of this mode of securing a tire in a channeled rim,reference may be made to Letters Patent of the United States No.604,067, dated May 17, 1898, to F. W. Morgan, in which pat-entasinglefastening-band consisting of a strip of metal is shown. While the rubbertires such as described in said patent are made of such length that theywill be under longitudinal compression even after their ends have beenbrought together, the rubber will in time tend to set and during use thetire will frequently open at the butt-joint formed between its abuttingends-that is to say, its edge will separate, so as to form in the tire agap, into which dirt or gravel will crowd, and under such conditionsfurtheruse of the tire will tend to cause further crowding of mattersinto the gap and hence widen the same.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap simple device which canbe readilyapplied for the purpose of tying together 'the.

abutting ends of the tire, so as to avoid any material separation of themeeting end portions of the tire and consequent opening of the tire atthe joint.

My invention can also be applied to a tire formed of several lengths orportions.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other useful ends my inventionconsists in matters hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure l is a section taken centrally andlongitudinally through a portion of a tire and Wheel-rim with the endportions of the tire pushed back and a toothed tie strip or plateembodying the principles of my invention placed upon the bottom of thechannel in the rim between the end portions of the tire preparatory tobringingsuch end portions of the tire together. Fig. 2 is a like viewshowing the end portions of the tire brought together and tied inaccordance with the principles of my invention. Fig. 3 is a sectiontaken through Fig. 2 on line at 50. Fig. 4 shows a toothed tie strip orplate embodying the principles of my invention normally curved or bowed.Fig. 5 is a plan view of the toothed tie strip or plate and illustratesthe spurs or teeth made integral with a strip or plate by punching thelatter.

A A indicate the end portions of a substantially solid elastic tiremolded with a strip of one or more layers of fabric along its baseportion, as at ct. The tire shown is of ordinary construct-ion, as isalso the rim B, provided with achannel in which the tire is seated andheld. The tire can be heldon the rim by one or more bands or wires, asusual, the drawings showing a single fiat metal band C insertedlongitudinally through the tire. On Fig. l the end portions of the tireare shown pushed back and compressed, so as to allow the lapping ends ofthe band to he riveted together. In Fig. 2 the end portions of the tireare brought together, thereby forming a cross seam or joint 0., Fig. 2.

My invention contemplates a. tie strip or plate having two sets of spursor teeth adapted to penetrate and engage in the tire at opposite sidesof the joint which is crossed by the strip or plate, the teeth of eachset being inclined toward a point between the two sets, in which way byapplying the toothed tie strip or plate before the end portions of thetire are brought together, so that the two sets of teeth shall bebetween the terminals of such end portions of the tire, said end portions can be brought together, since they will yield to and not catch upon'the inclined spurs or teeth. When, however, the end portions of thetire meet, any tendency on their part to separate will cause them tocatch upon the teeth or spurs of the tie strip or band ,which thereforewill tie such end portions of the tire togetherand prevent the jointfrom opening. Moreover, after bringing the end portions of the tiretogether they can be relatively crowded or compressed toward the joint,so that when released they will spring back to an extent to cause aneffective penetration of the spur or teeth in the tire.

Broadly considered, the tie band or strip, which is aspring-striphavinga normal curvature on a different radius from the radius of thecircle described by the rim or tire thereon, for purposes hereinafterdescribed, may be curved the reverse of the curvature shown and appliedin an opening or channel in the tire; but as a preferred arrangement andmatter of further improvement I place the toothed tie strip or plate Din the channel between the separated ends of the tire, as in Fig. 1, andthen bring such ends or end portions together, as in Fig. 2, where theyare shown held together by the toothed tie band or strip. This tie bandor strip does not normally conform to the curvature of the base of thetire or the base or bottom of the annular channel in the rim, but is aspring-metal strip made tire.

, preferred arrangement.

on a curve havinga radius differentfrom the radius of the circle onwhich the channel-base is formed, as in Fig. 1. When, therefore, the endportions of the tire are brought together, as in Fig. 2, the band willbe bent or flexed to conform with the circle on which the channel or thebase is formed, and, hence will be under spring tension, tending tomaintainits teeth d d, firmly embedded in the base of the Asbestillustrated in Fig. l, the toothed spring tie-strip is normally onthe line of a cur'veor circle of less radius than the radius of thecircle on which the bottom of the rimchannel is formed as a matter ofspecial and When, therefore, the ends of the tire are brought together,as in Fig. 2, the normally-bowed tie-strip will be straightened out toan extent tolcause it to conform to the greater radius of the wheelrim.A further advantage of this application and arrangement is that thetire-base being molded with a stout fabric surface the spurs or teeth ofthe tie band or strip will engage in such fabric, which will not yieldor tear, as would the rubber, in case the teeth only engaged the rubbermaterial. Where the tire is made of two or more lengths or portionsforming a plurality of joints, a toothed tie-band can be provided foreach joint.

'What I claim as my invention is 1. The combination with a substantiallysolid elastic tire seated within a channeled rim and involving a jointat its meeting end portions; and a device adapted for tying togethersuch end portions of the tire to prevent inaterial opening or separationof the tire at the joint, and comprising a spring tie strip or platenormally bowed on substantially the line of a circle having a radiusdifferent from the radius of the circle of the tire, and

having two sets of spurs or teeth respectively at opposite sides of thejoint of the tire and inclining toward such joint,said spurs or teethbeing in engagement with the tire and the spring strip or plate beingflexed from its normal curvature to place it under tension and therebyassist in maintaining its spurs or teeth in engagement with the tire.

2. The combinationof a substantially solid elastic tire seated within achanneled rim and involvinga joint between its meeting end portions; anda device adapted for tying together such end portions of the tire toprevent material opening or separation of the tire at the joint, andcomprising a spring tie strip or plate normally on a differentlongitudinal curve from the longitudinal curve of the tire and base ofthe rim-channel and confined b'etween' the base of the tire and the baseof the channel, said tire-strip being arranged to cross the tie-jointand having two sets of spurs or teeth inclined toward the joint andengaging in the base of the tire; the spring tie-strip being flexed tosubstantially conform to the curve of the tire-base and channel-base,and being thereby under tension.

The combination of asubstantially solid elastic tire seated withinachanneled rim and involving a joint between its meeting end portions;and a device adapted for tying together such 'end portions of the tireto prevent material opening or separation of the tire at the joint, andcomprising a spring tie strip or plate normally on a curve having aradius which is less than the radius of the circle on which the base ofthe rim-channel is formed, said spring tie strip or plate being confinedbetween the base of the tire and the base of the channel and arranged tocross the joint and having two sets of spurs or teeth inclined towardthe joint and engagingin the base of the tire; the spring tie strip orplate being also flexed or straightened in opposition to its inherentspring resistance to an extent to substantially conform to the curvatureof the base of the tire and bottom of the rim-channel and being therebyunder tension.

' WILLIAM HOLMES. Witnesses:

CHARLES G. PAGE, ARTHUR G. OLSEN.

